Devil's Paradise
by renegademoofin
Summary: Searching for the reason behind Aizen's betrayal, Hinamori Momo and Kira Izuru travel to Hueco Mundo as Soul Society prepares for war.
1. Chapter 1

**Title** Devil's Paradise  
**Series**Bleach  
**Rating**PG-13/T, though I may eventually make it a higher rating.  
**Summary **Searching for the reason behind Aizen's betrayal, Hinamori Momo and Kira Izuru travel to Hueco Mundo as Soul Society prepares for war.

**Disclaimer** I do not own Bleach. If I did..this would totally happen.

Author's Notes Hurray, the first chapter! This will be uploaded on deviantArt as well as here, and it will be uploaded at dA first, so if you want to check for new chapters, please look there; my username is PhilosiphicalCheese.

This fanfic is remarkably difficult for me to write; I'm not that good with multi-chaptered fics, or even one-shots with actual dialogue, so this is something new for me. My characterization of the characters will probably be very off from what they actually act like, so bear with me; I'm trying. As for the pairing of this fanfic...I can't really say. I'll probably play with all sorts of popular pairings(AiHina, HitsuHina, and KiraHina definitely, at least.), and some crack arrancarxHina pairings. x3 The official pairing is still up in the air though...knowing me, there will be heavy hints at smut(while keeping it in a Teen rating, of course) for at least AiHina or KiraHina. ..;

The first few chapters will come quickly, as all things do, and then I'll slow down most likely. I can't estimate how many chapters it'll have..it depends on how much I want to write. -blink- It'll probably have more than ten chapters though. Nevertheless; enjoy the fic!

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It was quiet in Seiretei. Despite the fact that Rangiku had most likely goaded some of her fellow officers into going drinking with her, and Captain Kyouraku was most likely still pestering his vice-captain even at such an ungodly hour, the slender shinigami running through the streets only heard silence. Perhaps that was fortunate, for Hinamori Momo had no desire for anyone to be alerted to her prescence, for someone would surely try to stop her.

It had been a few months since she'd awakened from her coma, and in that time, she had thought about nothing except what had happened with Aizen. She still refused to believe that he had betrayed Soul Society with such ease of mind, but, at the same time, she no longer felt that the blame could be cast at anyone else...at least, it could not go to any of the traitors. She had been the first to greet Captain Hitsugaya upon his return from the human world, and it had been only a few minutes before she had lashed out at him, her grief still too near for her to want to deal with his 'comforting' words. She had little recollection of what he'd said to her, but whatever it was, it made her see red. Since that moment of blind fury, Hinamori had referred to him by his proper title, and she came to determine that he loathed her for it

And, with all of the sincerity she could muster, she could honestly say that she didn't care. Her friends hated her; she kept them at a distance, and they tried to make her feel like it wasn't her fault, that Aizen was evil, and they'd stop him for her sake, and it made her angry, so what did it matter if she made them angry with her right back? She didn't care what Hitsugaya or her other companions thought about her, about her former captain; she would find the answers she was looking for, no matter which of her friends she had to push away. They thought they could 'save' her, but they were wrong; she didn't want, or need saving

Orihime Inoue had been retrieved from Hueco Mundo, but not before she had been able to set back Aizen's plans by a few months, and not before her nakama had cut the roster of his top fighters, his _espada_ practically in half. The Soul Society was frantically taking advantage of these few extra months; it wouldn't suprise Hinamori if all of the vice-captains had obtained bankai by the time Aizen's seige was set to begin. However, it didn't matter, for if she was to be in the war, she would follow the man she chose a long time ago to.

Being a master of kidou, certain tasks were suprisingly simple for her, and among those things was creating a portal to the human world. She had consulted the library a week or so ago, and determined how she could create a portal to Hueco Mundo. She had found the answer she sought, and now her footsteps brought her far away from Seireitei. Studying the slightly sloped ground beneath her for a moment, the shinigami closed her eyes, sighing as she placed her sheathed sword at her hip. It was time.

"Hinamori-kun."

Eyes snapping open, Hinamori whirled around, hand gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. However, she relaxed ever so slightly as she saw who it was. "Oh, its you, Kira-kun," she spoke carefully, trying to keep her tone light and easy. "What are you doing here at such an hour?" Her friend gazed at her steadily, arms folded over his chest; he would not let her off the hook that easily.

"I could ask the same of you; what are you doing here?"

"I was taking a walk. Its been hard to sleep since...what happened." Her eyes slid to the side as if the mere thought brought up painful images for her. She dared a glance at her friend, and she mentally flinched. She was right; he wouldn't let her off the hook that easily. The blonde's visible eye was narrowed, his fingertips gripping more tightly at his arms as he straightened.

"Vice-Captain Hinamori, I sincerely doubt that your intentions were 'just going for a walk' when you came so far out here." The smaller vice-captain flinched visibly this time, eyes flickering up to meet his in something close to pleading desperation before she finally sighed again, her face slipping back behind her carefully constructed mask as she turned away from him. "I'm going," she finally said.

"To Hueco Mundo? To Aizen? To the _traitors_?"

Again, a flinch. "Yes."

"Why?"

She whirled around once again, trying to hide some inconcievable emotion behind anger in her eyes. "Because I want to know why this happened! I want to know why Captain Aizen left, why he wants to destroy Soul Society, why he tried to kill Hitsugaya-kun and Abarai-kun and Kuchiki-san! I want to know why he left me behind..is that so much to ask?! Answer me, Kira!" Her blonde friend was silent, listening to her as she fell to her knees on the ground, the anger draining from her as that inconceivable emotion surfaced. "I want to know what I did to make him hate me so much."

Kira listened patiently, as he had so many times before. Extending his hand to her, he held it out until she took it and pulled herself up. He glanced past her, closing his eyes as he weighed the decision in his heart before he looked back at her. "I'm coming with you."

Hinamori did not ask why. She merely turned, closing her eyes. "Fine." She didn't listen for a response before she began the incantation. The taller vice-captain watched her silently. No tears had reached those eyes, even at her thought of Aizen hating her...and that frightened him more than anything that might happen in accompanying her to Hueco Mundo. But she needed him; he knew she did. He had abandonded her once to be betrayed by the man she'd loved with all of her heart, and he would not do that again.

As a blue light suddenly flickered in front of his eyes, Kira snapped out of his musings. He stepped forward to stand beside his friend, glancing towards her silently. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Her gaze shifted to his briefly, and he once again found himself looking for any trace of feeling past her masked eyes. She closed her eyes, her dark gaze shifted back to the portal. "I'm ready."

Gripping each other's hand's tightly, the two shinigami stepped through the portal.

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Seated at his desk in the tenth division, the young captain of said division's head raised sharply from his work as if he had suddenly become aware of a prescence...or a lackthereof.

"Hinamori..."


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Notes This was hard to write too..Gin, Aizen, and the fight were all PAINS. I'm not very articulate with my method of talking, but Gin was still suprisingly difficult; however, I knew I could do it, so I didn't write his wording formally. The fight was going to be more..exciting, but it was obnoxious(I'm not cut out for fight scenes), so I just let Hinamori show -why- she's considered a master at kidou. ..;

Hitsugaya will show up again next chapter; I just needed to get Hinamori and Kira into Hueco Mundo, and to Aizen. Unlike Ichigo and company, they're smart enough to get close to their destination. O: Kira and Hinamori will also get to meet the espada, which should be fun for me to write...Halibel in particular, as I know -nothing- about her. I'm not sure if Hitsugaya should go to Hueco Mundo after Hinamori or not, so I'd love an opinion on that. And if he does go, who should go with him? I'd like opinions on that too, because I'm relatively varied in who I can write for..though someone random like Kenpachi or SoiFon would be weird..x3;

Disclaimer: I, as always, do not own Bleach. -emotear-

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"Where are we?" Kira brushed his hakama off, ridding himself of any dirt that might have gotten on his clothing in their not so graceful fall into Hueco Mundo. Getting no reply, the blonde shinigami glanced to his friend, who was paying him no heed. Her eyes swept their surroundings before she closed her eyes, still remaining silent. Kira frowned, extending his hand to touch her lightly on the shoulder as she opened her eyes. Glancing back to him, she pointed. "Its that way." Before he had so much as a second to blink, Hinamori took off. 

Making a noise somewhat close to a yelp, Kira took off after her, only a moment needed for him to catch up to her. "How do you know?" he questioned, studying the back of her head carefully.

"Captain Aizen is that way."

He frowned, but soon sighed, merely saying, "I hope you're right."

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Tapping his long fingers against the armrest of his throne, Aizen smiled in amusement at what was shown on the screen in front of him. "So...she's finally decided to come here...and what's this? It seems your vice-captain has come with her, Gin." He looked over to the silver-haired man, whose sly grin only widened. "Did he now? Well, this may b'come more interestin' than I first thought."

Aizen watched the screen for a short while longer before looking up at his remaining espada and his created arrancar. "It seems we have visitors; two shinigami from the Soul Society. Both are vice-captains." At the word 'shinigami', Grimmjow growled.

"They already got that damned woman, didn't they? What do they expect to do now; take down Hueco Mundo by themselves?" The sexta espada scowled, folding his arms over his chest. Noitora, as usual, failed to miss a beat, grinning at Grimmjow. "My, you aren't -still- hung up over Pet-sama leaving, are you? Or maybe its the fact that you lost to that Kurosaki boy again?"

"Shut up Noitora, unless you want me to rip your tongue straight out of your fucking head!"

"Ooh, aren't you feeling feisty today? I'd be careful who you direct your threats at, Grimmjow."

"Why you little---"

The feeling of Aizen's immense spiritual pressure brought both espada to their knees as their leader stood. Eyes narrowing even as he smiled, the man gradually lessened his spirit energy enough for the two to stand. Both remained silent as he began speaking again.

"They are here, Grimmjow, to join with us," he began. "They are Kira Izuru and Hinamori Momo, vice-captains of the third and fifth divisions respectively. Both were my subordinates for a time, before Gin became a captain and Kira Izuru his vice-captain. Both are quite skilled in their preferred fields; Hinamori Momo is unrivaled by any currently in Soul Society short of Captain Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni and Captain Kuchiki Byakuya as a kidou master, and Kira Izuru is very much skilled in swordsmanship. I had suspected that Hinamori Momo might attempt to come here."

Looking at his espada, Aizen smiled menacingly once more. "There is no need for you to attempt to kill these two shinigami," he said, his eyes shifting from Noitora to Zaera-Polo subtlely. "Return to your quarters, and you will be summoned shortly. You may leave." As the espada and the rest of the arrancar began to leave, Aizen motioned to two of the leaving arrancar, who came to him. "Greet our guests..and be sure to show them the best of Hueco Mundo's hospitality."

Both of the arrancar grinned.

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Hinamori's eyes once again looked over their surroundings as Kira stopped for a brief moment to catch his breath. "So, where is he?" the taller shinigami inquired as his friend looked around. Looking to him, she opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by a sudden prescence close to her. Whirling around, her zanpakutou clashed with the weapon of a tall, pale arrancar, who grinned toothily. "My; Aizen-sama sends us to 'greet' you, and you treat us in such a way? Where are you manners, hm?" The slender shinigami's eyes shifted to Kira, who was occupied with another arrancar, then back to her opponent. Her eyes narrowed, and she leapt back, hands gripping her zanpakutou tightly.

"Captain Aizen sent you to greet us?"

"Indeed." Smirking slighly, he spoke with the tones of quoting someone. "Aizen-sama said that we were to greet you, and tell you that he does not wish for your prescence in this world; he requested that my companion and I remove the taint that you have brought to Hueco Mundo." Hinamori regarded him blankly, her grip loosening on her sword. The arrancar grinned, moving too quickly for most to follow as he aimed to slash the fifth division vice-captain.

However, a problem arose; she had vanished from her position. Eyes widening, the arrancar whirled around, where Hinamori had shunpo'd. He had little chance to move though, as the shinigami had been given just enough time to mutter her incantation. "Bakudou 61: Rikujyoukourou." As the spell caught her opponent, her eyes narrowed. She was tempted to try and extract information from the arrancar, but she doubted that her binding spell would hold long enough, and she desired to end this fight quickly, both for her, and for Kira. Closing her eyes, she held her palm out, beginning an incantation.

Kira almost immediately realized what she was using, and he used a weaker binding spell to bind his opponent as he leapt back, hoping that the arrancar wouldn't break the spell too soon, and that Hinamori's skills with kido would prove to be enough to kill both arrancar.

"Hadou 66: Souren Soukatsui."

She was so..calm, so calculated, even while she was killing two arrancar with no amount of pity or mercy in her eyes. Kira fought the urge to cringe; had Aizen's betrayal changed her so much? He prayed not; this harsh young woman was not the friend he'd known for such a long time. Hinamori closed her eyes for a long moment before looking to Kira. "We should keep going, in case any more arrancar decide to show up."

"Ah..all right."

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"Hyaa Hinamori-chan's b'come cruel, don'tcha think?" Gin's grin was still there as stood next to Aizen, watching the two shinigami through the viewing screen. "Used to be that she'd leave th' killin' t' someone else, r'member?"

"Indeed." Aizen drummed his fingers against his throne again, watching the screen with a strange mixture of boredom and faint interest. "Perhaps her injuries caused her more than physical harm." He sneered faintly at the mere mention of the wound he'd given her. Looking at him, Gin grinned. "Po' thing."

Aizen smirked, then glanced up. "They'll be here soon; lets give them a warm welcome, shall we Gin?"

"O'course, Cap'n Aizen."

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"I think we're here." Hinamori gazed at the large white doors in front of them, taking a deep breath. She suddenly felt like whatever force had driven her here had suddenly left her body, leaving her drained and afraid. Perhaps she hesitated, or perhaps he merely knew her well, but Kira's hand brushed against her shoulder; a simple gesture, but it gave her whatever it was she needed to push the doors open.

Darkness was the first thing to assault her senses, followed by a bright light. There were arrancar, all with various amounts of a strange spiritual pressure that was both familiar and unfamiliar. Gin and Tousen were standing on either side on her captain, who standing in front of his throne, a smile playing across his lips. It was a frightening expression, lacking the empathetic kindness that she was used to in his gaze, but she didn't care. He was _her._ The strings keeping her standing snapped, and she slid to her knees on the floor, fingertips brushing the cold marble beneath her. "Captain Aizen..."

"Welcome, Hinamori-kun."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes

There are certain characters I just want to avoid writing as much as possible. Renji is one of them. I would rather make him utterly smashed and untalkative than try to write for him. .. He will most likely show up later though because its important that he does since he's Hinamori and Kira's friend. I felt bad making Ukitake give Hitsugaya the news, but he just showed up and that was that. I also messed up Aizen, so I had to make him very uncaring mentally. ..;;;

I, as always, do not own Bleach. -emotear-

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"Welcome, Hinamori-kun."

Hinamori remained on the ground, looking at him with so many emotions welling up in her eyes that Kira could hardly tell them apart. Sadness, happiness, pain, fear, longing..and somewhere behind all that, the blonde almost felt that he could see a flash of anger in her gaze. Aizen looked different from what Kira remembered; his smile was as easy and calm as always, but it was cruel and unfeeling, and his eyes showed some form of sadistic amusement that made him shudder. He wondered if Hinamori saw the same things in the traitorous captain that he himself saw.

Kira doubted it seriously.

The slender shinigami seemed to snap out of whatever astonished state she was in after a moment, standing up slowly, carefully, as if she was afraid that her legs couldn't hold her up. She didn't approach Aizen, but she didn't move closer to Kira either; she merely stood where she'd fallen, gazing up at the man she'd come to Hueco Mundo to find. Her muscles were functioning properly once more, and she was noticeably tensed, which Kira was, oddly enough, not suprised by.

At the frail appearance, the apprehensive look, the stiffened muscles of his former vice-captain, Aizen's amused smile widened. He stepped forward, then walked towards Hinamori, who made no motion to move away, or come closer. Stopping directly in front of the dark-haired girl, he brushed his hand through her bangs, stroking her hair, feigning all of the warmth and kindness she remembered in the fondest memories.

Aizen felt a shudder pass through her, and an amused smile once again played across his lips. His former vice-captain's gaze shifted up towards his face, her lips parting for a single word. "Why?" Aizen's eyebrows arched ever so faintly, the smile fading as he appeared to look confused. Hinamori's thought was not finished, as the tears she'd held bottled up since she spoke to Hitsugaya after her awakening fell freely from her eyes. _"Why?" _She could manage no other word as she stared up at the man she so adored. She buried her fingertips into the coarse black fabric of her hakama and squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let her tears, her _weakness_ escape.

Aizen motioned for a black-haired arrancar with empty toxic eyes to come to him, and he said something to him that Hinamori could not hear through her heart's erratic pounding in her ears. His voice then called her, speaking as though they were the only two in the world. "Your journey here must have been exhausting. Go rest; we can speak later." She opened her mouth to protest, but then he did something she didn't expect. Brushing her bangs away from her face, he pressed his lips to her forehead gently. It was a warm, comforting, kind gesture, something she had always seen in whatever he did before. However, she could feel the cruel amusement on his face, feel the manipulative smile against her forehead, even without seeing it herself.

She shuddered.

His smile only widened

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He couldn't find her. The genius captain had gone to the fifth division barracks, to the third division barracks, to the sixth division barracks, and everywhere else he didn't think she'd be. Hitsugaya tried to pinpoint her spiritual energy, but it was nowhere to be found, which worried him. She had no reason to mask her spiritual energy unless she was running from something...or if she didn't want anyone to know where she was going. Cursing, he quickened his pace, jumping onto the rooftops and looking around for any trace of his childhood friend.

He was soon aware of Matsumoto's laughter, and he followed the sound until he found her. His vice-captain apparently found something hilarious in her two nearly-comatose drinking companions. He walked towards her, and it took her a moment to realize he was there. When she did, she waved her sake bottle around, grinning. "Hiii taichooouuuu What're ya doin' here? You're too young to drink, right guys?" Renji and Hisagi's only response was a groan from each of them, and Matsumoto broke into another round of hysterical laughter. Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed.

"MATSUMOTO!"

She silenced quickly, blinking at him. "Huh?" Hitsugaya gritted his teeth, putting his hands on her shoulders so she couldn't decide to zone out on him. "Matsumoto. Was Hinamori here earlier?" Matsumoto shook her head, taking another drink of her sake. "No, she told us she had 'more important things to do'," the well-endowed woman said, mimicking the younger vice-captain's words condescendingly. "I dunno what sort of stick she's got up her ass, but she's starting to get on my nerves; she used to be so fun to hang around with, what with her complete intolerance for alcohol and how hilarious she was when she was hammered and--"

"Matsumoto..just shut up." Hitsugaya's eye twitched, and he rested the heel of his hand against his forehead, looking to Renji and Hisagi, who had both sat up somewhat groggily. "Abarai. Hisagi. Have you seen Hinamori at all tonight?" Abarai, who was obviously much more effected by the booze in his system, managed a no and a groan as his head thumped back down to the table. He chuckled at the new pain assaulting his systems, and Hitsugaya scowled in irritation. Hisagi blinked, shaking away the fog in his mind as best he could. "I haven't seen her. Isn't she at the fifth division barracks?"

"No."

"The third division? Kira seems to be the only person of equal or lesser rank she hasn't gotten pissed off at in the past couple o' weeks."

"She isn't there either.

"Well, how about--"

"Dammit Hisagi, she isn't ANYWHERE!" The scarred vice-captain fell silent, and Hitsugaya sighed. "Sorry. I just can't find her, and I can't sense her spirit energy." Hisagi waved his hand, taking a drink of his sake. "I'm sure she's fine; she probably got into an arguement with Kira or Yumichika or someone else and went to the Rukongai to blow off some steam. She'll probably be back in the morning." Hitsugaya started to argue against that, but he finally sighed. "You're probably right." He didn't believe that, but if she was just 'blowing off some steam', then there was no sense panicking everyone when she'd be back in the morning. Still, he couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling he got.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" At a familiar voice, the silver-haired captain turned around to see the long-haired captain of the 13th division. He mentally cringed, but it took him only a moment to realize that there were no sweets or obscenely ridiculous statues in sight. "Good evening, Captain Ukitake." The older captain coughed lightly, then glanced around. "Vice-captain Hinamori isn't with you, is she?"

"No, she isn't; I haven't been able to find her anywhere."

"Have you seen Vice-Captain Kira then?"

"..No, I haven't seen him either." Hitsugaya felt his stomach knot. "Ukitake, what's this about?" Ukitake's eyebrows furrowed together, and he finally sighed. "There were reports of some sort of bright light near the execution grounds. The twelfth division figured out the location and traced the pathway of the portal." The knot tightened in his gut. "..And?" Ukitake's eyes fell to the ground mournfully, then back to him. "The portal's destination was Hueco Mundo."

Hitsugaya froze. Hisagi's eyes widened as he halted his cup halfway to his mouth. Even Matsumoto, who was apparently not as intoxicated as her captain had first thought, narrowed her eyes. The shorter of the two silver-haired captains standing there clenched his fists, shaking his head furiously. "She wouldn't have..she COULDN'T have! Is the twelfth division absolutely certain that their information is correct?!" Ukitake sighed, looking at the other captain with pity. "They are positive. I'm sorry, Captain Hitsugaya, but Vice-Captains Hinamori Momo and Kira Izuru have betrayed all of Soul Society."

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"These are your quarters." The arrancar with the empty toxic eyes who Hinamori had learned was known as Ulquiorra gestured to a door with a simple motion of his finger. He pointed to the door across from it, looking to Kira. "Those are yours. Clothing has been provided. Aizen-sama has instructed me to tell you that you may go anywhere in Hueco Mundo; you are not prisoners. However, many of the arrancar are less than pleased that Aizen-sama has allowed two shinigami into our ranks; for that, I suggest that you carry your weapons with you when you leave your quarters." Hinamori looked at him, nodding shakily, bowing politely. "Thank you." The pale espada gave no indication of hearing or accepting her thanks, turning on his heels and walking back the way he had come.

Once he was out of sight, both shinigami seemed to have the same thoughts, sinking to the ground against the wall they were leaning against with a sigh. Hinamori pulled her legs up against her chest, resting her forehead on her knees. Kira leaned back, his head hitting the wall with a dull thunk as he sighed again. "Its too white here." Hinamori gave no response, and he looked at her, frowning lightly. "Hinamori-kun..are you sure this was a good idea?" The slender shinigami didn't lift her head, but she sighed. "I didn't ask you to come with me, Kira-kun."

"I know, but.." Hinamori lifted her head, looking at him with a level gaze. "But what? Why did you come with me?" He rested his head against the wall, staring up at the large ceilings. "I wanted to come with you. I wanted to be on your side, no matter where that took me." The dark-haired girl looked at him before looking down at her knees, speaking so quietly that he almost couldn't hear her. "Thank you..Kira-kun." With that, she stood, studying the large door that Ulquiorra had told her led to her quarters. "I guess we should change into those new clothes and either get some rest or do a bit of exploring so we don't get lost later." Kira nodded, standing as well. The two shinigami went into their seperate doors

Hinamori returned from her room first, leaning against the wall and waiting to see if Kira was more interested in exploring rather than resting too. The slender shinigami was dressed in white, her clothing now a dress with wide pleats and a billowing feeling that reminded her of the hakama she'd worn as a shinigami, a short jacket with black fabric around the collar that trailed down and concealed the zipper down the middle, a wide black sash, black tabi, and white sandals. Her hair was down, wrapped with a dark red ribbon and resting over her shoulder, and her sword was tucked into the sash at her hip. At a sound across the hallway, she glanced up, blinking at Kira. His clothing was reminiscent of Ulquiorra's, she decided, though the front was longer and the back was shorter; he too had his sword at his hip. He looked uncomfortable.

Straightening from her spot against the wall, she tilted her head to the side, watching as he tugged on his sleeve and shifted uncomfortably. She studied her own sleeves, smiling faintly. "They aren't as easy to move around in, are they?" He shook his head, shifting again. Moving to stand next to him, Hinamori looked up at the blonde. "Ready to go?" Kira nodded, and she set off, him walking beside her. Tugging on his sleeves again, Kira frowned, repeating what he had said earlier.

"Its too white."


	4. Chapter 4

Soul Society was quickly stirring with the news of the departure of the fifth and third division vice-captains. The remaining captains and vice-captains were in seperate meetings discussing what should be done. Hitsugaya's agitation was quickly rising as the captains argued about what should be done.

"How can we be so sure that Hinamori-fukutaichou went of her own free will?" Ukitake questioned, looking at the captains. SoiFon was quickest to respond with the answer everyone else was most likely thinking. "How can we be so sure she didn't? She'd go to Hell in back for Aizen! And even if she didn't go of her own free will, then why did Kira-fukutaichou go with her, hm? Why didn't he try to stop her, instead of going with her?"

Ukitake frowned, taking a moment to ponder that question before answering. "We've all heard his account of Aizen's betrayal; perhaps he isn't sure where his loyalties are; to Soul Society, or to his captain."

"Or to Hinamori." The captains looked to Hitsugaya, who had been relatively silent up to that point. Straightening, he looked to Yamamoto, who had allowed the debate to continue for some time. "Captain General Yamamoto, I request permission to lead a small group of shinigami to Hueco Mundo to retrieve Hinamori-fukutaichou and Kira-fukutaichou."

Yamamoto was silent for a moment, studying the young captain. He finally spoke. "No..I will not allow it." Hitsugaya's eyes widened, and he started to protest before the old captain held up his hand, continuing to speak. "Ukitake-taichou; you will lead a team to Hueco Mundo to retrieve the two vice-captains before they can reveal any knowledge to Aizen of our preparations for the war." Now, he looked to Hitsugaya. "If Ukitake-taichou wishes it, you may accompany him, only if you do not allow your judgement to be clouded in your haste." Ukitake and Hitsugaya nodded. "If the two refuse to come back, or if they resist, you are to use all force necessary to stop them."

Hitsugaya knew what he was talking about..if Hinamori and Kira refused to return to Soul Society, then their new task was to kill them. He gritted his teeth, but nodded his understanding. Yamamoto kept his gaze on the two. "You are permitted to take three others with you; it would be wise if they were seated officers, but every remaining captain will be needed here to finish preparations for the war." Ukitake nodded. "Sir. I already have three officers in mind."

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"I can't believe they did this!" Matsumoto paced back and forth, occasionally snarling her irritation as the remaining vice-captains watched mildly. "I mean, Hinamori I can understand, but Kira always put his duty as a vice-captain before everyone else!" Hisagi sighed, leaning his head back against the wall with a thud. Renji, who had been quickly sobered up thanks to Isane, narrowed his eyes as he stared at the wall.

"S'not suprising, actually. Kira's first priority since Aizen left has been Hinamori. If he thought she was in any sort of danger, I'd be damned well suprised if he -didn't- follow her." Matsumoto looked back at him, scowling before she finally sighed, releasing most of her anger in one breath. "Fine. But if I get my hands on either of them, they're going to get it." Renji blinked, then sighed himself. Hisagi lifted his head, eyes shifting to the door just before it opened. Matsumoto turned around, eyes widening. "Taichou! Ukitake-taichou! What are you doing here?"

Hitsugaya ignored her confusion. "Abarai, Hisagi, Matsumoto; get ready, give instructions to lower-ranking officers, do whatever you need to do. We're going to Hueco Mundo."

--------------------

Hinamori, who had spent the span of several human lives in Soul Society, was not quite sure what to think of the place where she and Kira walked. It was large and somewhat foreboding, and awe-inspiring in a chilling way. Studying the large ceilings, the dark-haired shinigami was silent for a moment. "Its so..big! Don't you agree Kira-ku---?" The girl had looked down from the white ceilings to speak to her friend, only to realize that he was no longer walking next to her. Turning around, she blinked.

"Kira-kun?" Starting to walk slowly back the way she had come, Hinamori continued looking around and calling him. It suddenly seemed to her that the hallways were much larger than they had been; it made her nervous. She murmered something to herself, or perhaps it was to Tobiume..she wasn't sure herself. She was not afraid of the prospects of an arrancar, but she felt that much less nervous with her friend nearby. At a sound behind her, Hinamori whirled around. "Kira-kun?"

"Lost someone, girlie?" Hinamori stiffened, watching the tall arrancar stepping from the shadows warily. "Who are you?" The arrancar grinned, and she flinched at just how much that smile reminded her of Ichimaru's. "Noitora, at your service." As he took a step forward, she took a step back, for some reason feeling devoid of the calculating calmness that she'd had facing the two arrancar prior to her arrival to Aizen. "I'm looking for my friend."

"Oh?" Another step forward, another step back. "What does he look like? Maybe I can help."

Another step forward, another step back, and Hinamori found her back suddenly against a wall. Her fingertips strayed to Tobiume, a comfort to herself, and a warning to him. "No, I'll find himself, thank you." On the bright side, he stopped walking. On the not-so-bright side, the slender shinigami found herself pressed tightly against the wall with the tall arrancar in front of her, grin even wider. Her hand moved to Tobiume again, only to be grabbed and slammed above her head with the other soon following.

Squirming, she tugged on her hands, finding it suprisingly useless considering he was holding both of her wrists with only one hand. Smirking, the arrancar bent down to be at eye level with her, tilting his head chidingly. "Now now, that wouldn't be very nice, Toy-chan; you wouldn't want to hurt one of Aizen-sama's top fighters, now would you?" Hinamori's eyes narrowed despite her sudden onset of fear. "I'm not a 'toy'."

"Oh, you aren't, are you?" Grinning, Noitora looked at her with his one visible eye, his fingertips toying with the loose sash around her waist. "The way I see it, you're Aizen-sama's little toy; sitting there, hoping he won't get bored of you or he won't break you." Gritting her teeth, she started struggling against his grip, attempting with more desperation to get free. He kept her pinned against the wall, grin widening more as she struggled. "I have a little secret for you though, girlie. You can be his toy, but he'll break you in the end." His hand moved up to the zipper of her jacket, toying with it as his face moved close to hers. "However, I don't break my toys." Hinamori closed her eyes, a noise close to a whine escaping her as she tried to push him off one last time while hoping that Kira would, by some miracle, come to her rescue.

She heard a sudden growl and a loosening of pressure, and she gave her struggling one last ditch effort, and managed to free herself. She didn't go far however, backing into another being. Her eyes opened to see a large sword pointing over her shoulder at Noitora, who was gripping his arm tightly where the cloth covering it was slowly turning red. Hinamori looked up, only seeing blonde hair and a white mask covering her rescuer's face. The tall figure's other hand rested lightly on her shoulder as they began to speak. "Noitora. I advise you to leave; you wouldn't want Aizen-sama to catch you trying to harm one of his guests, would he?"

Noitora gave the woman(for Hinamori could not deny the femininity of the voice) a dirty glare before suddenly grinning. "Of course not, Halibel." His grin turned to Hinamori, who looked to the side. Snorting in disdainful amusement, he turned on his heels and vanished back into the shadows. Inhaling sharply, the slender shinigami finally pulled away from the woman, turning and bowing politely, eyes squeezed shut. "T-thank you very much!" Halibel glanced to the wall as she sheathed her weapon before turning and glancing back to Hinamori. "Come; I'll take you to your friend." Hinamori nodded, following her.

Kira had apparently been looking for her as well, for the moment he saw her, Hinamori could see visible relief on his face. She was much less reserved about her relief after what had just happened however. Slipping past Halibel, the dark-haired shinigami flung herself at her friend, who caught her easily, scratching the side of his face as a faint blush crossed his features.He rested his arms around her shoulders lightly, not quite finding it in himself to embrace her. Glancing to Halibel, he smiled tiredly, mouthing his thanks to the lanky female arrancar. She acknowledged him with a simple nod of her head, turning and leaving.

As much as he'd like to have allowed his friend to stand there clinging to him, Kira doubted that either of them could remaining standing for much longer. Putting his hands on her shoulders so she would look up at him, he smiled down at her with all of the calm kindness he had in his body. "We should get some rest, Hinamori-kun." She nodded.

---------------------

"Is everyone ready?" Ukitake looked back at the four shinigami behind him, who all nodded. The blue light emitting from the portal behind him was sharpening and blurring their faces almost past his recognition...or perhaps they were good at guarding what was going on through their heads. It didn't matter. As he turned, Hitsugaya stepped up beside him, and the three vice-captains moved to stand behind the two captains. Each of the five shinigami took a breath that seemed to merge into one silent prayer as they stepped through the portal.


	5. Chapter 5

..ZOMG, I am SO sorry I took so long on this. I got stuck at Hitsugaya and company's part. I had to try and get through it as quickly as possible...I guess I paid for going so early and not thinking more on who to send to Hueco Mundo..'cuz I totally -died- trying to write that part.

I don't think I made too many grammar mistakes, which is amazing considering the majority of this fic was written between the hours of one and four AM every night I worked on it.

Of course, I leave a lot up to the imagination with Kira and Hinamori, both with their respective captains and then together..moreso with their captains. I spent a long time trying to decide if I would unsubtle-ly hint at things more..erotic in nature, but I decided to keep it subtle so that if you wanted to imagine something like that happened, you could, and if you didn't, then you could just pretend that it was all musing. XD Then again, the Kira and Hinamori part -was- a bit more obvious...but not obvious enough for me to have to give it a higher rating. ..You'll get what was going on in their heads later, I think. You can start blaming Aizen and Gin in advance though..XD

Tousen made an appearance! And..still didn't speak. He doesn't strike me as the talkative type. Oh, and what did Gin whisper in Hinamori's ear? ..You might find out later, you might not; I just figured it would be in character of him to say something mean-ish to Hinamori...

Again, I apologize for taking so long, for inconsistencies in my writing, for out-of-character-ness, and for any other problems that I know are here but I don't want to think about. ...Hopefully, Hinamori and Kira will get to meet the rest of the espada in the next chapter..along with Lolly and Menoli, and maybe Wonderwyce...oh, and Tousen might actually -speak- next chapter! -gasp-

* * *

"Hinamori-san."

Brown eyes opened slightly, fluttering sleepily. "Ah..Halibel...san?" Sitting up and rubbing the traces of sleep from her eyes, Hinamori swung her legs over the edge of her bed, standing and blinking at the lanky blonde espada. "Is something happening?" Halibel shook her head, handing the slender shinigami her clothing. "Get dressed; Aizen-sama wishes to speak to you." The girl blinked again, her mind taking a moment to register what the woman had just said. Yelping, she nodded, managing to sqeak out a reply. "A-All right! Thank you!"

Halibel waved off her thank you with a graceful flick of her wrist, turning and exiting the room. Holding her clothing to her chest, Hinamori was silent for a moment before turning her back to the door, shrugging her white robe off and starting to change into the garments that had been given to her for her stay in Hueco Mundo. She absently wondered why her former captain had requested her prescence..perhaps something had happened? Or..well, he -had- said that they would discuss her questions later..or maybe...

"Hinamori-k--GYAH!" Hinamori's head shot up, glancing over her shoulder at her friend, who had quickly turned his back to her. Turning a slight shade of red, she zipped up her dress, not bothering to get angry at him or panic; after all, she'd had her back to him and he wasn't the sort of person to peek intentionally. "What did you need, Kira-kun?" Glancing to the wall beside him through his blonde hair, Kira controlled his own blush, swallowing the lump in his throat before answering. "Halibel-san said that Aizen-taichou wanted to see you, so I figured that I would go with you in case..well..."

Zipping her jacket, Hinamori turned to him, smiling lightly as she tied her hair. "Thank you, Kira-kun." He glanced over his shoulder at her, smiling somewhat nervously himself. "Well then..should we go?" The smaller shinigami stepped past her blonde friend, and he followed, remaining silent as he walked behind her. She was quiet as well, keeping her gaze ahead of her, as well as keeping her attention on her surroundings.

The blonde shinigami studied her for a moment, swallowing his..he wasn't sure what the emotion he was feeling was, but he shoved it to the back of his mind. Stepping forward, her tentatively reached forward, fingertips pressing against the middle of her back. She stopped walking, staring ahead and refusing to move in any way. Kira's voice was low as he spoke to her, touching the fabric covering the small scar that knotted against the skin of her back. "Does it still hurt?"

Hinamori was still staring ahead, but her face lowered lightly, gaze gradually shifting to the ground. "No..." Grasping the white fabric brushing against her fingertips, the dark-haired shinigami closed her eyes, biting her lip. "It stopped hurting some time ago." Afraid that if she bit down on her lip much harder, she'd draw blood, the slender girl straightened, glancing back to her blonde friend before beginning to walk again. This time, he walked beside her.

---------------------

Narrowing his gaze at his surroundings as his eyes tried to adjust to all of the white, Hitsugaya scowled. Ukitake and the others were already on edge as well, even Renji; despite the fact that he'd come here and escaped with Ichigo, Rukia, and the others, Hueco Mundo made him fill uneasy. Matsumoto folded her arms, frowning at her surroundings. "Taichou, Ukitake-taichou, just where are we going to start looking? This place is enormous, and I can't sense Hinamori or Kira's reiatsu."

Ukitake was silent for a moment before sighing, pressing his fingertips against his forehead. This was going to be difficult. Renji had been occupied by one of Aizen's espada when Orihime had been rescued, and therefore had not successfully reached the heart of Aizen's palace..he didn't think that the orange-haired ryoka had gone much farther before finding his friend either, so much of their searching would be left to guesswork. With Hinamori and Kira masking their spirit energies, the best they could hope for was any fights getting more difficult as they got closer..or one of the two renegade shinigami releasing some sort of reiatsu. They were going to be running blind.

"We should stay together." The other shinigami looked to Renji, who's face was set in determination. "Even if it takes longer, we'll have an easier time of it when Aizen realizes that we're here and sends his arrancar." Matsumoto arched an eyebrow. "It seems logical, but..you think he'll only send arrancar?" Ukitake spoke now. "Aizen will most likely be able to declare war on Soul Society in a matter of a few weeks; for him to risk the destruction of his most powerful warriors would be foolish. It would be wiser to wear us down with multiple battles." He sighed again, glancing up at the tall white ceilings and sighing as he said, "We don't have much time."

Hitsugaya straightened, eyes narrowing once again. "Then lets go."

--------------------

"Ah, Hinamori-chan!" As the large doors were pushed open, Gin stood, grin widening at the appearance of the two shinigami. Aizen was in the room, along with Tousen and a wiry pink-haired man that Hinamori decided was probably one of his espada. At the addition of two more beings in the room, the pink haired man straightened, bowing to Aizen before turning and smiling amusedly at the two shinigami. Hinamori looked at all of the smiling faces in the room, and decided to focus on Tousen instead, whose face was deceptively placid as it had always been during his time as a captain in Soul Society.

Aizen gestured to two shinigami, his calm smile widening. "Szayel-Aporro. I would like you to meet Hinamori Momo and Kira Izuru, two former subordinates of Gin and myself," he said, standing as well and looking to the smaller of the two shinigami. "Hinamori-kun, this is Szayel-Aporro Grantz, my octava espada." Hinamori snapped back to attention immediately, bowing politely. "Ah..its nice to meet you." Beside her, she heard Kira mutter a similar greeting, and the pink-haired man's smile twisted into a smirk. Resting his hand on his chest, he bowed low, lower than Hinamori, before lifting his head up slightly to look at the two shinigami. "I assure you, the pleasure is all mine."

Straightening, he turned back to Aizen, the smirk disappearing. "Is that all you require of me, Aizen-sama?" His leader inclined his head, and Szayel bowed low again before turning, walking past the two shinigami, giving them a polite incline of his head as he passed. Hinamori's gaze shifted from the ground to Aizen. Gin's grin once again widened considerably as he himself headed for the door, pausing to motion to Kira once he was a few yards in front of him. "Come, Izuru; we should leave Hinamori-kun 'n Aizen-sama t' talk." Kira looked from Gin to Hinamori; when the latter of the two nodded slightly, Kira sighed, turning to Ichimaru. "Hai, Ichimaru-taichou.." As he passed Hinamori, Gin leaned down, ruffling the dark-haired girl's hair and whispering something that Kira couldn't quite catch in her ear. However, whatever it was that the silver-haired man said, it caused his the dark-haired girl to stiffen considerably.

The doors did not close as Kira and Gin stepped out of her point of view, and Hinamori was not suprised in the least when Tousen took his leave with no more than a nod of his head, and with a gesture from Aizen, the two arrancar guarding it closed the door, leaving Hinamori and her former captain alone in the large room.

Aizen smiled, gesturing to the chair across from him; she sat down carefully, winding her fingers into the white fabric of her dress. "Umm..did you call me for something Aizen-taichou..er..I mean Aizen..sama..?" Aizen's lips twitched faintly in amusement, and he smiled again. "'Aizen-taichou' will suffice, Hinamori-kun. And yes, I did. You had questions for me, did you not?" Hinamori glanced up from her lap with mild suprise before looking back down. "Oh..yes, I did."

Swallowing her nervousness, the dark-haired shinigami looked up at him. "Why did you betray Soul Society? Ukitake-taichou and Unohana-taichou said it was for power, but..was that the only reason?" Aizen regarded her patiently before standing, walking around the table as he said, "Is that your only question?" Hinamori looked at him, biting her lip and nodding slowly. As he reached her side, he grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, making her look up into the eyes she had been trying to avoid. And then he smiled.

"Yes." Hinamori gripped the fabric beneath her fingertips more tightly, somehow finding herself unable to look away from him. She started to say something again, but she was quickly silenced. And she knew that even if some small voice of reason lingering deep within her mind said that it wasn't right, she could ignore it with so much ease it was revolting, because that larger part even deeper within her mind was devoted to him. She allowed herself to be consumed by that blind devotion, because pain was easier to bear when she was bearing it for him, if she was bearing it because of him.

---------------------

Curled up against the wall her bed was pressed against, Hinamori wound her ribbon around her fingertips, the only sound the shifting of her clothing and her shallow breathing in that too dark, yet too bright world. At a gentle knock at her door, the dark-haired girl murmered a 'Come in', looking at the door through her messy bangs. Pushing the door open quietly, her blonde friend glanced at the floor, chewing on his lip. "Hinamori-kun..."

Blinking, she was still for a moment before gesturing to him. Kira responded quickly, and with some small amount of boldness, sat down next to her on the white bed before leaning over, resting his head in her lap. Hinamori ran her fingers through his blonde hair, the sound of his quiet breathing mingling with her own, creating gentle echoes in the smothering silence.

Neither of them spoke, but they understood each other nonetheless. Perhaps it was because they had been friends for so long, but perhaps it was because they understood that all-consuming feeling of devotion, adoration, and betrayal. Kira finally moved, brushing his hand over the one she had wound in his hair. "Are you crying, Hinamori-kun?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then it doesn't hurt?"

"No, it doesn't. I'm happy

Kira sat up then, looking at her. He cupped his hands around her face, and she took a breath to prevent the tears from escaping. Pressing his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes. . "You're a horrible liar, Hinamori-kun." She could not hide the quiet sob that rose from her throat. "I'm not lying; I'm happy."

"Then you got the answer to your question?" Kira felt something warm slide down against his thumbs, and he did not even bother resisting the urge to kiss them away.

"Yes." Her fingertips wound more tightly into his hair, and he brushed away her bangs, lips moving to her forehead, then back down again.

"..It hurts, doesn't it?" And then she sobbed, but he stopped the sound halfway out of her throat as whatever feeling had emboldened him closed his mouth over hers. And amid the quiet whimpers and the shifting of cloth and the suddenly deafening sound of their breathing, he thought he heard her answer.

"Yes."


End file.
